After the snow and cold it got warmer. Typical Michigan weather, changing all the time. But all that snow was still on the ground, and it had been cold for almost two week, so inevitably one day we woke up to fog.
Foggy farm fields.Say that fast 3 times.
So I went looking for water and trees dripping in fog. I had something specific in mind, but sometimes things don’t work out the way I plan. Eventually I gave up on the foggy lake idea and settled for foggy farmland.
A barn patiently waits for spring.
I was somewhat happy with the few foggy farmland photos I had when I remembered the National Cemetary, not far from my house. I reasoned the rows of white tombstones could look interesting in the fog.
It was kind of peaceful there, no noise, just the sound of falling rain.
And I remembered there were a few dead trees around a small lake too. Surely there would be something perfectly foggy to photograph out there.
Looking across the lake, the fog was rolling in thick.
In the end I’m really glad I stopped at the cemetery, though it had begun to rain by the time I arrived. The tombstones looked even more somber than usual in the grey light. I took quite a few photographs. They look almost black and white, but they aren’t.
So many rest here.
When I was finished photographing things near the front of the cemetery I figured I’d go to the back on the off chance I’d see the eagles that nest there. Every time I visit this cemetery I look, but I don’t always get lucky and see them.
Do you see them?
This time I did.
Meet Mr, and Mrs. Bald Eagle.
Score.
And double score on the way home when I found a red barn.
Red looks so nice against the grey of a Michigan winter.
Yep, I ended up being a happy camper, even on a dreary, foggy, rainy, winter day.
A couple weeks ago we got some real snow, the first of any significance this season. It came to us blowing from the northeast, unusual for around here, and it was wet, sticky snow.
The pond across the street.
It stuck to all the tree trunks and branches, outlining everything. From a distance most of the woods around here looked like birch trees.
Heading out to see what there was to see.
I wanted to get out to get some pictures. It was so pretty for so long. But the weather was also miserable for a long time, the roads covered in slippery snow, the wind blowing, the temps in single digits.
The roof of our township offices.
I don’t want to even talk about the wind chill temperatures.
The woods across the marsh, trees painted in snow plaster.
Still, I’d look out the back windows and it was sooooo beautiful.
Up and down hills on the way to the park.
So one afternoon, with the sun peeking out from behind the typical Michigan winter clouds, and temperatures above zero, I ventured out.
Faux plaster.
I went to a park in the next township west of here. I didn’t walk very far, but I enjoyed being out there, and I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
I should have brought my skies.
Those of you that live in warmer climates….this is what you’re missing!
Red, white and blue on a pretty winter day.
Now…stop laughing, and no fair sending me pictures of blue skies and golden beaches!
Hey! Did you know we got a bunch of snow a week ago? I’ve never seen so much snow in my entire life! Well, OK. My entire life has only been 13 months, but still.
OK mom!I’m ready, throw the Frisbee!
I kept bugging mom and dad to take me out to play and they kept saying it was too cold. Too cold? Are they crazy? I’m a sheltie for goodness sake! I love the cold!
I ran so fast mom had a hard time getting all of me in the frame!
But mom and dad said I didn’t understand, with the wind chill it was something like -18 degrees Fahrenheit which, for those of you in Canada is about -27.7! Mom said that is really cold and I wouldn’t want to be out there.
I said yes I would too, and I begged and begged to go outside. Mom and dad said I was quite annoying. I call it persistence.
Mostly I loved to run and jump!Some people think I’m a rabbit!
Finally mom dug around in some drawers and found my sister Katie’s boots. My feet are bigger than Katie’s feet were, but she still managed to get them on my feet. Only because I let her, I might add.
Come on mom, throw it again!
I was not amused by the boots, and she doesn’t have any still images of me wearing them. She took a short video of me, short mostly because I wouldn’t walk much wearing them. I thought they were ridiculous.
I’ve got it, mom!Notice I’m not wearing any stupid boots!
When we went outside I accidently (on purpose) lost 3 of the boots in the snow drifts. Mom had to go back out into the dark and cold to find them. She says she’ll get them on tighter next time.
Sure mom.
Life doesn’t get any better than this!
Anyway, finally it got a little warmer, and today it was warm enough to go play in the back yard!
Mom’s artsy image of beautiful me!
Boy I had fun! Mom threw the frisbee and I chased it down, pounced on it, and brought it back to her.
Hustling back to mom with the prize!
Then, usually, I chewed on her ankle until she threw it again. You have to keep moms on their toes, you know.
Nom, nom, nom.
Then I saw a BIG STICK in the yard and I headed right over there. You all know how much I love sticks, right? Well this one looked just perfect!
Wow!The mother of all sticks. You’re mine, stick!!
But then mom called me, really loud, and I knew she had treats in her pocket, so I turned around real quick and headed back.
Coming mother!(Notice the piece of stick in my mouth!)
I scored big time for coming right back to mom when she called me!
We spent a lot of time out there in the back yard. She kept trying to get me to stay while she walked away.
I’m a happy girl!
I don’t know what that’s all about, I like to be right up next to her all the time. She backs up to get a better shot and I scoot forward the better to get a treat.
I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than run and jump!
I personally think that makes me a very smart dog. Don’t you agree?
Just throw it mom!
Anyway, mom got a few good shots of me playing in the snow. They say it will all melt next week, so it’s good I convinced her to go out with me.
I have the best yard, don’t you think?
Next week I’ll be muddy. I’m sure mom will think I’m just as cute.
Last week we got our first significant snow of the season. We’d been enjoying unseasonably warm weather for most of December and January, while at the back of our minds we worried about our landscaping that needs a blanket of snow to survive until next spring.
Mr and Mrs Cardinal dine together at our windy, snowy, deck railing.
A definite benefit of being retired is that we don’t have to worry about commuting to work in a blizzard. If we don’t want to go out we don’t go out. It’s just one great perk of getting older.
A little chickadee tries to warm up with some suet.
Sometimes we forget there are benefits to aging.
Two female European starlings unsuccessfully try to share what’s left of the suet.
Anyway, I digress.
After days of warning from the pessimistic weather folks the storm hit us very early on Friday. First there was rain, then ice, then snow.
A male downy woodpecker impatiently waits his turn.
Early Friday, while taking the dog out for her morning ritual and stepping carefully down the icy driveway in the dark, we noticed a neighbor mincing his way down the street with his dog.
Mrs Cardinal desperately tries to figure out how to get to the suet.
Of course we went out to road to talk. Penny got to kiss Oliver, (the dog) who is somewhat besotted with her. The neighbor said there were some trees down up the road. I said I hadn’t looked out back yet.
A blue jay uses his tail for balance in the wind.
As the morning filled with light I saw that we, too, had some bending trees, some limbs down, the typical damage we usually sustain in an ice storm. I sighed. Little by little our birch trees are coming to the end of their lives.
A chickadee launches after his meal.
We’ve lived here over 30 years, I guess it’s expected. Nothing lives forever, right?
A disgruntled goldfinch.
Throughout the weekend the snow came down, blowing sideways from the northeast. We made very limited trips outside, only for doggie necessities.
Mrs.Redbelly shows off her pink tummy.
Mostly I sat in my chair with a view of a couple of our birdfeeders, watching the frenzy. And eventually, over the weekend, I got a few shots of the birds frantically eating, puffed up, trying to stay warm.
You can see the purple and green in her feathers.
I had to fill all the feeders, the thistle, the oiler, the peanut, the suet, at least twice a day. I even spread extra oilers on the deck railing, and under our rocking chairs that are turned upside down for the winter.
The colors on the back of the blue jay are beautiful too.
Little birds, and bigger birds too, were everywhere. As the food ran out they waited anxiously in the trees, coming down to wait closer as soon as I’d step out the backdoor. My birds know I’ve got their backs.
Even the dark eyed junco, who usually likes to eat on the ground, was hungry enough to try the twirling suet feeder.
And I know you’ve all seen photos of my birds at the feeders before. So in this post I tried to show you more unusual shots, a little attitude, a bit of wing.
It was a busy, windy, weekend!
I feel very lucky to be able to sit in my chair by the window and watch the entertainment happening just on the other side of the glass.
Somehow we’re headed toward the new year already. Day after tomorrow will be the first day of 2024, and nothing I can do will stop it.
Time is moving so quickly, it’s all a blur.
It hasn’t been easy, 2023, and part of me is happy enough to see it go. But it’s all moving so fast I wonder, if in a week or so, I’ll be welcoming 2025.
We all need to spend more time sitting still and listening.
It seems I blink and whole months have evaporated. I’m almost afraid to blink again.
Here’s hoping 2024, an election year in the US, encourages us to work together rather than against each other, helps us find new ways to connect with each other, and highlights the good inside so many of us.
Santa has headed back to the North Pole, now it’s on each of us to find our own joy.
I am hoping. But maybe I should just blink us into 2025.
Boy I bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been! I know I’m probably the most important concern on your minds all the time, and in the interest of getting you to relax, I’ll bring you up to date on my adventures.
Me in my chariot.
There have been plenty.
Since it’s the holiday season I guess I should start out with my walk a week or so ago. I got to go to a park with my friend Whisky and his mom. (And my mom came too.) There were Christmas lights everywhere!
My friend Whisky-Roo and his mom.
There were lots of people and their dogs walking around and I was a pretty good girl about not barking at stuff. Even when people came out of the dark and startled me.
Sometimes I get worried that Mom isn’t paying attention to all the people walking by when she’s taking pictures.
Mom said it was pretty hard to get pictures of me looking at her cause there was so much other stuff for me to look at!
We spend way too much time sitting in front of stuff when we should be walking, Mom!
Then this week mom took me to Davis Lake Overlook Park, which is near my house. I’ve only been there one time before, and that time we walked in a different part of the park.
I think we should go down the yellow trail, Mom.
So on this walk everything was new to me. Boy I had fun sniffing. I’d go from one side of the trail to the other, nose always to the ground.
I feel like I’m wearing camouflage, Mom!I blend right in!
Mom said I did very good not being scared of being in the woods. When I was a little girl the big trees kinda scared me, but I’m a big girl now, and a lot braver.
Mom asks me to sit in front of stuff all the time.I think she needs to have an intervention.
Then guess what? My Uncle P. came to visit us! It was his first visit since I moved in. He’s so much fun! I liked him right away. A couple days ago he and Mom took me back to Davis Lake Overlook and we walked on a completely different trail there.
My Uncle Paul.
Part of it even Mom had never been on before! Mom says she might rename this park Penny’s Park. I think that’s an excellent idea.
Istay very focused on mom. When she says “OK!” I’m going in for my treat, yes sirree!
Mom says she’s still thinking about it. She says change is hard.
I think this is an excellent park and should definitely be named for me.
Anyway, we had a great walk even though it was foggy and cold. I didn’t mind that a bit of course.
I gave her my best pose down by this little pond.It’s my Christmas present to her.
I loved walking with Mom and Uncle P. They thought they’d be wearing me out so I’d be calmer when we got home. But the joke was on them - I wanted to play, play, PLAY when we got back.
They, on the other hand, needed a nap.
Never underestimate a Penny.
Silly people. They should know by now you can’t wear an Unstoppable Pretty Penny out!
Hee, hee.
Well, I might have taken a LITTLE nap.
Talk later, it’s time for me to go open my Christmas present, your Unstoppable Girl, Penny.
Change Is Hard 